It was a busy year for 16-year-old Carmen Francellno.

The winner of the first annual Evanston-Belize Sister City Pageant, she participated in the 2002 Olympic torch lighting, addressed a crowd on Veteran’s Day and traveled to the Central American country of Belize in April as the first-ever Miss Evanston-Belize.

Applications are due today for the second annual pageant.

Francellno, a junior at Evanston Township High School, went on an all-expense-paid trip to Belize from April 6-12.

Greeting the people of Belize on behalf of the City of Evanston, Francellno met the Belize City mayor, visited an orphanage and soaked in the sights of the “beautiful Belize countryside,” she said.

“The trip to Belize was a great experience,” Francellno said. “It was fun, hot and they were friendly people.”

Francellno’s itinerary included meeting the country’s Prime Minister Said Musa and visiting the Alliance Against AIDS headquarters.

Upcoming plans for next year’s Miss Evanston-Belize include volunteering at a soup kitchen in Chicago, riding with Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton during the annual 4th of July parade and giving talks to pregnant teenagers in hospitals.

This year’s winner also will travel to Belize next spring.

Francellno said traveling abroad was a learning experience.

“It taught me not to take things for granted,” she said. “The people of Belize are not poor, but people in the United States have a lot more. Observing the people of Belize made me realize how one can be happy without material things.”

Francellno played basketball and participated in cheerleading at ETHS.

Outside of school she played for the Fleetwood Jourdain Community Center basketball team. She also played bugle for the Evanston Drum and Bugle Corps and participated in the Grace program, a mentoring program that paired her up with a Delta Sigma Theta sorority sister for a year.

“She is a very shy young lady who has the quality that people are looking for,” said Sam Hunter, chairman of the Evanston-Belize Sister City Committee. “She represents Evanston well.”

Darlene Francellno, Carmen’s mother, echoed Hunter’s confidence in her daughter’s reign as Miss Evanston-Belize.

“I’m very proud of her,” she said. “She’s an exceptional child who is very disciplined. I never have to stay on her case. She is involved in many activities in school, all by her own choice.”

After graduation, Francellno plans to study law in college. Her advice to next year’s applicants for Miss Evanston-Belize is to remain true to their goals, she said.

“Come in with an open mind,” she said.

The goal of the pageant is to select an ambassador who could foster relations between Evanston and Belize.

The winner has to be a role model for others her age, Hunter said.

Applicants have to be residents of Evanston between 16 and 21 years old and submit an essay on a historic event or landmark in Evanston. Participating students need to have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 and a letter of recommendation from an employer is required for anyone employed.

Applications for this year’s pageant can be found online at www.cityofevanston.org/government/mayorsoffice.html.